tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85749333821244120242024-02-07T15:36:07.010-08:00Technology WorksEnoch Moseshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13898450224427893889noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574933382124412024.post-69389634649498384692020-07-26T12:09:00.003-07:002020-07-26T12:21:15.059-07:00Will computers be allowed to do more than "aping"<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"></meta>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgLV7cA8IAKfKfNvILONH7OQeKjgj3UkeLoQedZd10kt2sOaM5qd3xje4jVg_IPUJyzWq0SJsrRFGgMZ6FU9h-pfKFFzLX_aDxJh1sjAQqriq8oQUekwngiGelKzR0D9NMjMy2rJk184/s0/julaug2020_-_web_cover_simthsonian.jpg" /></div></div><div><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Yesterday I completed reading, "</span><a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/bonobos-teach-humans-about-nature-language-180975191/" style="color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">What Can Bonobos Teach Us About The Nature of Language</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">," in the July-August 2020 edition of the Smithsonian Magazine. Lindsay Stern (</span><a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://twitter.com/lindsayostern" style="color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Twitter</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">, </span><a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-stern-237a7559/" style="color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">LinkedIn</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">) wrote the article, which is about the Bonobo ape and their ability to grasp complex language concepts using lexigrams. The research was pioneered by Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh (</span><a class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-savage-rumbaugh-46687b180/" style="color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Linkedin</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">). Sue was able to communicate with <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lexigram">lexigrams</a> to the Bonobos apes. She would show a banana and point to a specific symbol. Over time, the bonobos mapped the symbol for bananas, apples, and other objects and communicated with Sue and other researchers. Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh was eventually able to communicate complex thoughts using the lexigrams. Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh was eventually replaced due to the close bond she developed with the bonobos. The current researches state that Dr. Savage-Rumbaugh deviated from the scientific rigors in her research and, in many ways, neglected the apes.</span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">In her Smithsonian article, Stern questions if humans don't want to develop a relationship with the bonobos because it makes us less human or the apes more human. The thought is intriguing, and it led me to ponder if humanity will a similar struggle with machines in the near or distant future. After all, we teach computers using deep-learning algorithms to map images, which can be equated to lexigrams, to objects. Unlike animals, machines are predictable and can be harnessed to superhuman tasks like crunching through petabytes of data in a matter of minutes. If a PC or a Mac says, "I don't want to do the task, " then we replace the machinery. If an employee says, " I don't want to do the task," then the employee is disciplined or even fired. Is it a control thing; or is it our biases (acquired or built-in)</span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">As a trained data scientist, I was taught that it is tough to remove the audience's biases. The best a data scientist can do is to provide the data in a consumable format that will enable the audience to get insights and make decisions. </span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">Organizations and governments fund research to learn about things that can be leveraged to benefit their respective groups and, eventually, humanity. However, these entities will not fund research that questions the underlying belief systems and makes us less human or our research subject or technology more human. Hopefully, you enjoyed the blog entry because the Smithsonian article made me reflect on the work we do and how we contribute and transform the "human race."</span></p></div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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Surprise. Surprise. A few days ago, IBM replaced its CEO <a href="https://twitter.com/ginnirometty" target="_blank">Ginni Rometti</a>, with <a href="https://twitter.com/arvindkrishna" target="_blank">Arvind Krishna</a>.
According to Barrons, <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/ibm-names-a-new-ceo-hoping-to-reboot-its-cloud-efforts-51580514602" target="_blank">IBM sales have fallen by 25% in the last eight years</a>, while other tech giants sales are doing well. In the previous eight
years, I haven't seen <a href="https://www.ibm.com/" target="_blank">IBM</a> make the rounds to sell their products like DB2,
Watson, WebSphere, and others. They are not marketing their services well.<br />
<br />
These days when I think about IBM, I see it as a "blah" technology company
that lacks excitement. I used to think of Microsoft the same way. Things
changed after <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella" target="_blank">Satya Nadella</a> took reigns at Microsoft. They made a few exciting
acquisitions that tell me Microsoft (specifically the current CEO) have a
vision. These acquisitions diversify their offering of services. Here is the <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/about/" target="_blank">timeline</a>:<br />
<ol>
<li>Microsoft made its flagship product Microsoft Office accessible on non-Windows devices.</li>
<li>Microsoft purchased Minecraft for $2.5 billion. I thought this was a head-scratcher, but my kids love Minecraft. Right off the bat, Microsoft made inroads with the next generation, which will be earning income in the five to ten years.</li>
<li>Microsoft introduces Windows 10, and it is a solid Operation System with a smooth user experience. When l look at Windows 7 and others, I am reminded of <a href="https://twitter.com/Steven_Ballmer" target="_blank">Steve Balmer</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I14b-C67EXY" target="_blank">his poor image of screaming at developers</a>. Steve Balmer and his version of Microsoft. Steve is not missed. He is better off running the <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippers" target="_blank">Los Angeles Clippers</a>.</li>
<li>Microsoft then bought LinkedIn.</li>
<li>Microsoft purchased Github. As a developer, I thought it was huge because it showed Microsoft's commitment to the developer community and the open-source community.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8574933382124412024" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8574933382124412024" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>When I see IBM, I don't see any innovation, and it appears to be the "Big Blue Stale Machine." Is IBM's Watson ready to collect its Social Security checks because it seems to be aging pretty fast? The company I am really concerned about is Google. Google recently stopped offering its core product Google Search Appliance, and
it bundled it with its email. Gmail is good, but it doesn't provide the email experience of Outlook. Google's founders stepped away from
leadership and gave it an up-and-coming CEO <a href="https://twitter.com/sundarpichai" target="_blank">Sundar Pichai</a>. The
sudden disappearing act by founding computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey
Bring doesn't build my confidence in Google. Memes like this one below or <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-parent-posts-disappointing-earnings-but-discloses-new-youtube-cloud-details-11580765421" target="_blank">The Wallstreet Journal</a> article will not help Google's image.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFL6cpjSD9n2GMYd_uAnvCXLYjs1JkvDCYtt9SAoqypmRQ_5MlzMYkvC-5U5rjX3VsSO63s5dZnGvFtBHFcBUKClYWqoC2UPsdTp966FAIS3aYZNYQrkvDtemsEY1ZcbotxgXUuiG3uI/s1600/google_hiring.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1125" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpFL6cpjSD9n2GMYd_uAnvCXLYjs1JkvDCYtt9SAoqypmRQ_5MlzMYkvC-5U5rjX3VsSO63s5dZnGvFtBHFcBUKClYWqoC2UPsdTp966FAIS3aYZNYQrkvDtemsEY1ZcbotxgXUuiG3uI/s320/google_hiring.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
For Google to build their trust with me, I want to see Google's founders take a
more active role in the technical community. I would also like to see
user-centric innovation. Having the most robust and secure cloud in the
market is not appealing to me because they don't market it, and their tools are not user-friendly. It's time for <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-page/" target="_blank">Larry</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/sergey-brin/" target="_blank">Sergi</a> to stop playing in
their lab and step up with the big boys like Satya Nadella, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/" target="_blank">MarkZuckerburg</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedhastings/" target="_blank">Reed Hastings</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook" target="_blank">Tim Cook</a>, and others.<br />
<br />
Speaking
about Tim Cook, who is the CEO of Apple Inc. He has not done anything
earth-shattering, but he has kept Apple with the times. The launch of
Apple TV is great, but I would like to see more innovation come out of Apple.
Shrewd CEOs are strategic, operations focused, and can be ruthless. Very
few leaders are also innovative. I see Steve Jobs in this category.
As you may know, the US government is trying to wrestle with Apple to get into
its devices via a backdoor. It will be interesting to see if Apple will
every give-in.<br />
<br />
<a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8574933382124412024" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8574933382124412024" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Unlike Apple, Mark Zuckerburg, and his company Facebook seem to give in to external
pressures. According to Facebook, they are going to let politicians
publish political ads. Facebook is trying to diversify its portfolio of
products, but I don't know how they can much progress since I don't trust.
It's going to be hard for Facebook to get back in the game until they gain back
the public trust. It can be done.<br />
<br />
I am interested to see how Netflix will evolve. Scott
Hastings and his team revolutionized streaming digital content to mass
audiences. Netflix has created a great
market for actors, actresses, producers, directors, and other auxiliary roles
for making movies, documentaries, and tv shows. With Disney+, Peacock TV, CBS Access, HBO, and others are trying to catch
up to Netflix. According to my graphic, Netflix needs to move into
gaming and devices to differentiate itself from other sorts of offerings.<br />
<br />
I believe Amazon has reached its potential with e-commerce, and I like the way
they are going with Amazon cloud and digital content. Amazon will evolve and begin to the left on
my image via Amazon Web Services (AWS).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrO2hzXAQnFbbUKITpvgNPxtMLgsuj8IsriWoYbo4aRvkZEoQdcc38dWR3NqIZ_gnKEjfnLMdK6q7Yv7bIr0DuMHYeKup3Bgtu7cgXQz356KjDc4FXvSYq5LZivNni4-R1y4T9Xp_iz8A/s1600/service_grid_smaller1.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="675" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrO2hzXAQnFbbUKITpvgNPxtMLgsuj8IsriWoYbo4aRvkZEoQdcc38dWR3NqIZ_gnKEjfnLMdK6q7Yv7bIr0DuMHYeKup3Bgtu7cgXQz356KjDc4FXvSYq5LZivNni4-R1y4T9Xp_iz8A/s640/service_grid_smaller1.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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</div>
<a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8574933382124412024" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8574933382124412024" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>In summary, big tech companies need to offer a diverse set of services which gives them the flexibility to grow and help them to minimize the risk.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_7-C8qQYj_7m_kkRJZdktdTafaQAl2AZ7f6r4XXKeLp4HVBkwtaOKcUs2RfgZelqgKngDRRj36a45iCBHpbw4pJC6Iy7b1EW_Y74qlFeGhD2TVst55CnqAF66_ufhrI_hTRpHCFJqbk/s1600/10483641-flip-clock-letters-a-b-c-d-e-f.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_7-C8qQYj_7m_kkRJZdktdTafaQAl2AZ7f6r4XXKeLp4HVBkwtaOKcUs2RfgZelqgKngDRRj36a45iCBHpbw4pJC6Iy7b1EW_Y74qlFeGhD2TVst55CnqAF66_ufhrI_hTRpHCFJqbk/s320/10483641-flip-clock-letters-a-b-c-d-e-f.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“…</span>Luhnow is widely considered to be one of the most successful
baseball executives of his generation, credited with ushering in the second
“analytics” revolution in baseball and rebuilding the Houston Astros into a
perennial Postseason contender. But while no one can dispute that Luhnow’s
baseball operations department is an industry leader in its analytics, it is
very clear to me that the culture of the baseball operations department,
manifesting itself in the way its employees are treated, its relations with
other Clubs, and its relations with the media and external stakeholders, has
been very problematic. At least in my view, the baseball operations
department’s insular culture – one that valued and rewarded results over other
considerations, combined with a staff of individuals who often lacked direction
or sufficient oversight…”</i><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Excerpt from the <a href="https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/cglrhmlrwwbkacty27l7.pdf" target="_blank">Statement of the Commissioner</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If you are a baseball fan, then your world got rocked by <a href="https://www.mlb.com/" target="_blank">Major LeagueBaseball</a>’s (MLB) Commissioner <a href="https://www.mlb.com/official-information/executives/rob-manfred" target="_blank">Rob Manfred</a>’s penalties on the Houston Astros
General Manager (GM) <a href="https://twitter.com/jluhnow" target="_blank">Jeff Luhnow</a> and manager <a href="https://twitter.com/ajhinch" target="_blank">A J Hinch</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are banned from MLB baseball for a year
without pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subsequently the owner of
Houston Astros Jim Crane fired both of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jeff and A J were fined because they oversaw the 2017 Houston Astros
baseball team, which cheated in baseball games using technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The following few days after the firings, Alex Cora, the Boston Red Sox manager, and Carlos Beltran, the New York Mets manager, stepped down. Both of them were mentioned in Rob Manfred's Statement of the Commissioner report. Alex was bench coach of the 2017 Houston Astros, and Carlos Beltran was a player on the 2017 Houston Astros team.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The 2017 Houston Astros used technology to steal the opposing team’s
catcher’s signs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The catcher’s signs tell the pitcher what pitch the pitcher will throw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
the batter knows the pitch that he will see, then the batter has a better
chance of hitting the ball. It alters the odds provides an edge to the batter.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
If you don't know much about the game baseball, here is a video that provides the basics of the game.</div>
<div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AYlOsqb_QOc" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Other than baseball pundits and historians debate if the penalities on Jeff and AJ were harsh enough and the adverse impact to the game, the following statements in the commissioner's report caught my attention,</div>
<div>
<i>"Luhnow’s baseball operations department is an industry leader in its analytics," </i>and</div>
<div>
<b><i>"</i></b><i>the baseball operations department’s insular culture – one that valued and rewarded results over other considerations." </i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
Ideally, in any data and analytics organization, decisions are based on data and not on emotions and "gut feeling." The Houston Astros focused on the data and results and forgot their mission, which is to play honest baseball and compete. MLB players, managers, and teams are tempted to cheat because they can win, which in turn leads to more lucrative financial contracts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking about money. Several years ago, I distinctly remembered listening to a Fresh Air episode on the <a href="https://www.npr.org/" target="_blank">National Public Radio (NPR)</a>. In the show, the Fresh Air host interviews <a href="http://michaellewiswrites.com/" target="_blank">Michael Lewis</a> about his book <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Boys-Michael-Lewis/dp/0393244660/" target="_blank">Flash Boys</a></b>. The show caught my attention. The Fresh Air <a href="https://www.npr.org/2014/04/01/297686724/on-a-rigged-wall-street-milliseconds-make-all-the-difference" target="_blank">website </a>states the following,<br />
<i>"<b>Flash Boys</b> is about the form of computerized transactions known as high-frequency trading, in which the fastest computers with the highest connection speeds get the information first, and make the trade before anyone else can. A millisecond — even a nanosecond — can make all the difference between how much money is made or lost on any transaction."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
With <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/06/investing/wall-street-computers-program-trading/index.html" target="_blank">machines making trade decisions</a> in a few seconds, investment banks, hedge funds are exploiting these types of legal cheating using technology.<br />
<i><br /></i>
I believe US law enforcement agencies like the <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/" target="_blank">Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)</a>, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/" target="_blank">US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)</a>, and others are looking into these types of legal cheating using technology.<br />
<br />
Major League Baseball (MLB) punished the cheating team, but I believe they are of the tip of the iceberg. With financial institutions using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other technologies to legally cheat, we, as a society, need to develop policies based on data ethics.<br />
<br />
I, however, haven't read much about data ethics in any major publications like <a href="https://www.hbr.org/" target="_blank">Harvard Business Review</a>, <a href="https://www.medium.com/" target="_blank">Medium</a>, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/" target="_blank">Gartner</a>, <a href="https://go.forrester.com/" target="_blank">Forrester</a>, and others. These publications still promote the objectivity of data-driven decisions since it enables organizations to make ideal decisions. With high-frequency trading, stealing baseball signs, and others, I would like to read about how businesses and organizations are promoting data ethics with their workforce. The domain of Data Ethics should include data stealing, skewing the data to achieve desirable results, data sharing, speedy data access, and more.<br />
<br />
If we don't have penalties for cheating with technology and data, then we may be cheated out of our money. Companies sharing our personal data for monetary gains is just the being. Folks need to know what is right and wrong when these individuals work with data and analytics. We cannot afford to have our trusted institutions to be like the 2017 Houston Astros.<br />
<hr />
<b>NOTE: </b>The ABCDEF image is from <a href="https://www.123rf.com/photo_10483641_flip-clock-letters-a-b-c-d-e-f.html">https://www.123rf.com/photo_10483641_flip-clock-letters-a-b-c-d-e-f.html</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Happy New Year!!! As we look forward to the new decade, we should reflect on the past decade. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Content-driven services</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A lot happened in the 2010s, Netflix, Amazon Prime, ESPN 3 made streaming content "cool." I went this route because my DVDs were getting scratched, and I was not happy with my cable service. Overall I saved money, and I was pleased with its flexibility. I could watch content on my handheld devices. </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Prediction for the 2020s: </b> </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I envision these types of streams will continue to grow, and the cable TV will eventually disappear. Folks will pay for recorded and live content rather than specific tv channels. I would rather directly pay the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL rather than go through ESPN and FOX sports. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I envision broker companies that will focus on aligning users, content providers, and marketing companies. The broker companies will develop user profiles based on patterns. They will use AI and machine learning to build and improve user profiles. These profiles will then leveraged to provided target adds. Amazon is already taking steps to go this route via Amazon Channels[1]. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Technical Debt</span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Currently, Chief Information Officers (CIO) are struggling with aging infrastructure and the lack of funds to upgrade the infrastructure, which includes network infrastructure, databases, applications, and other IT-related components. Hackernoon.com does a great job of defining Technical Debt[2], and Technical Debt is one of the significant causes of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Prediction for the 2020s: </b> </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Companies will be forced to address this problem in the 2020s because of security vulnerabilities that be in exposed in the old infrastructure.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I envision start-up companies that will specialize in upgrading infrastructure, which includes moving digital assets (e.g., applications, data, and others) to the cloud. These companies will bring processes like DevSecOps[3] and the associated tools to the project.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">These companies will need to provide a holistic approach in assessing the issues, developing a strategy, and executing the plan. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Leverage platform services</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the 2010s, companies recognized that they need more enterprise IT services. Email isn't the only enterprise service. Services like <span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Identity and Access Management (IAM) services, enterprise search, document management, and others need to be considered as well.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Companies bought the infrastructure and hired the staff to develop the service and maintain it. Unfortunately, a document management SME doesn't have the bandwidth to understand the rapidly evolving cybersecurity attacks. This leaves the businesses behind the eight-ball when it comes to sustaining an enterprise service and be vigilant of cyber threats.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Prediction for the 2020s: </b> </span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Large vendors like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and others will offer cloud-based enterprise services. These services will have simple and clean interfaces. By having a clean and straightforward interface, the potential targets for a cyber attack are reduced. The current set of examples of cloud-based enterprise services are the Google Identity Platform [4], Tableau Online [5], and others. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I envision IT groups focus on training their staff on how to integrate their business applications with their enterprise services. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>CXO roles</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Currently, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) is the chief IT officer in any business organization. Typically the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and the Chief Data Officer (CDO) report to the CIO. I envision these roles will change in the future.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;">Prediction for the 2020s:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Due to the continuous threat of cyber attacks, the role of the CISO will be elevated in the business organization. The CISO will be equivalent to the CIO. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The job of the CDO will continue to be a tough one[6]. The CDO role will not be funded well and may not have a lot of authority. The CDO will need to please two masters, the CDO and CISO.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The CDO role will follow a similar pattern to the Gartner Hype Cycle [7], where the hype will go down because the CDO role is not an operations role. The CDO will be on the same level as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or lower.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Cloud Architect will be elevated to the C-Suite due to the complexity of the cloud and the cybersecurity threats. On December 30th, 2019, The Wallstreet Journal published an article, <i>Ghosts in the Clouds: Inside China’s Major Corporate Hack</i>[8], which discusses how the Chinese hackers went in through the cloud providers.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>NOTE:</b> Image for this blog post is located at </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/new-year-s-day-2020-new-year-s-eve-4722431/">https://pixabay.com/illustrations/new-year-s-day-2020-new-year-s-eve-4722431/</a>.</div>
<div>
<hr />
[1] Casey, H., and Reisinger, C. (2019, May 13). What Is Amazon Channels and Is it Worth It? <i>Tom's Guide. </i>Retrieved from <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/us/amazon-channels-faq,review-4125.html">https://www.tomsguide.com/us/amazon-channels-faq,review-4125.html</a>.<br />
[2] Hackernoon.com. (2018, Jan. 25). There are 3 main types of technical debt. Here’s how to manage them. Retrieved from <a href="https://hackernoon.com/there-are-3-main-types-of-technical-debt-heres-how-to-manage-them-4a3328a4c50c">https://hackernoon.com/there-are-3-main-types-of-technical-debt-heres-how-to-manage-them-4a3328a4c50c</a>.<br />
[3] RedHat, Inc., (n.d.). What is DevSecOps? Retrieved from <a href="https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/devops/what-is-devsecops">https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/devops/what-is-devsecops</a>.<br />
[4] Google, LLC (n.d.). Google Identity Platform. Retrieved from <a href="https://developers.google.com/identity">https://developers.google.com/identity</a><br />
[5] Tableau, LLC (n.d.). Tableau Online. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.tableau.com/products/cloud-bi">https://www.tableau.com/products/cloud-bi</a>.<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">[6] Bennett, Jo. (2016, Apr. 11). How chief data officers can tackle formidable roadblocks, including people, culture, and internal resistance. <i>Smarter With Gartner. Gartner, Inc. </i> Retrieved from </span><a href="https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/half-of-cdos-succeed/">https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/half-of-cdos-succeed/</a>.<br />
[7] Gartner, Inc. (n.d.). Gartner Hype Cycle. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/gartner-hype-cycle">https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/gartner-hype-cycle</a>.<br />
[8] The Wallstreet Journal (2019, Dec. 30). Ghosts in the Clouds: Inside China’s Major Corporate Hack. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ghosts-in-the-clouds-inside-chinas-major-corporate-hack-11577729061">https://www.wsj.com/articles/ghosts-in-the-clouds-inside-chinas-major-corporate-hack-11577729061</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfZGgCZ4oH-Npit6jV_m87oO1yoWTqeQc62UHN_u1xK_1AQ2PSqBEDWLTMRHL67EosaQGsDgG8olxBYzFiUizhOovfz8weQi4xgo3Dtxks1OppsKp1UGFRnpHHyOYkH7jYZ0A6ZUeMO4/s1600/dna-3888228_1280.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfZGgCZ4oH-Npit6jV_m87oO1yoWTqeQc62UHN_u1xK_1AQ2PSqBEDWLTMRHL67EosaQGsDgG8olxBYzFiUizhOovfz8weQi4xgo3Dtxks1OppsKp1UGFRnpHHyOYkH7jYZ0A6ZUeMO4/s320/dna-3888228_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The following statement in a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, which was published on December 18, 2019, caught my eye,<br />
"India is a nation state, it would treat the <b>data generated by its citizens as a national asset</b>, store and guard it within national boundaries, and <b>reserve the right to use that data to safeguard its defense and strategic interests</b>."<a href="https://hbr.org/2019/12/how-india-plans-to-protect-consumer-data" target="_blank">[1]</a> The HBR article is about India's proposed legislation to protect its consumer data. The bill is called the Personal Data Protection Bill (DBP).<br />
<br />
On December 24, 2019, The New York Times published an article called <b>Pentagon Warns Military Personnel Against At-Home DNA Tests</b>.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/us/military-dna-tests.html" target="_blank">[2]</a> The article discusses a Department of Defense internal memo which discourages military personnel from taking mail-in DNA tests. According to DoD leadership, they:
<br />
<ul>
<li>Are unreliable;</li>
<li>Negatively impact service members' careers; and </li>
<li>Create security risks.</li>
</ul>
I am not sure if there is any relationship between the two articles, but it highlights the dangers of international privacy laws, which are still evolving. I believe our DNA information is our most private and personal information. If countries like India push laws like the DBP, which can use its citizens' personal information, including DNA for national and strategic interests, then folks to be careful about their personal data. Nations cannot use their citizens' data if the data isn't generated.<br />
<br />
The next question to ask if these laws will get less complicated. The answer lies in the history of privacy laws.<br />
<br />
According to the HBR article's authors, the proposed DBP is based on the European Union's (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to an EU website, the GDPR was released on May 24, 2016, and the EU enforced the GDPR on May 25, 2018.<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-protection-eu_en" target="_blank">[3]</a> The EU used the US Department of Commerce's National Institution of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommendation called Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (Special Publication 800-122)<a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-122/final" target="_blank">[4]</a>, which was released in April 2010. The state of California issued the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in June 2018. The CCPA is based on GDPR with modifications.[<a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/3292578/california-consumer-privacy-act-what-you-need-to-know-to-be-compliant.html" target="_blank">5</a>]<br />
<br />
With each data regulation, bill, and recommendation released over time, nations and states are trying to protect its citizens and their data, but countries (like India, China, and others) may use the data to further political and national security reasons.<br />
<br />
As members of the digital age, we cannot cut off ourselves from the internet, but we need to be aware of the risks, policies, and rights since they are constantly evolving like the technologies around us. Military and other governments may ask their citizens to share their DNA for the good of their countries. Still, I am not a fan of businesses monetizing, or criminal syndicates stealing my data. I believe privacy laws, in general, are good, but we in the US need a cohesive single data protection legislation and a watchdog organization that focuses on digital privacy. I am not a policy wonk, but I believe national and international privacy laws need to mature as data grows exponentially, and technologies like artificial intelligence proliferate our lives in the next ten years.<br />
<br />
Until then, please be careful what you share on the web, including your DNA results. Currently, our DNA information in the US is protected via the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) [<a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/gina.cfm" target="_blank">6</a>]. That being said, presidents change, legislators change, supreme government justices change, governments may change, but your DNA information doesn't change.
<br />
<hr />
[1] <a href="https://twitter.com/vgovindarajan">Govindarajan, V.</a>, Srivastava, A., & Enache, L. (2019, Dec., 18). How India Plans to Protect Consumer Data. Retrieved from <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/12/how-india-plans-to-protect-consumer-data">https://hbr.org/2019/12/how-india-plans-to-protect-consumer-data</a>.<br />
[2] <a href="https://twitter.com/heathertal" target="_blank">Murphy, H.</a>, & <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/mihir-zaveri" target="_blank">Zavehri, M.</a> (2019, Dec. 24). Pentagon Warns Military Personnel Against At-Home DNA Tests. <i>The New York Times</i>. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/us/military-dna-tests.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/us/military-dna-tests.html</a>.<br />
[3] Data protection in the EU | European Commission. Retrieved from <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-protection-eu_en">https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-protection-eu_en</a>.<br />
[4] McCallister, E., Grance, T., & Scarfone, K. (2010, Apr.). Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). <i>NIST Special Publication 800-122</i>. Retrieved from <a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-122/final">https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-122/final</a>.<br />
[5] <a href="https://twitter.com/MariaKorolov" target="_blank">Korolov, M.</a> (2019, Oct. 4). California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): What you need to know to be compliant. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/3292578/california-consumer-privacy-act-what-you-need-to-know-to-be-compliant.html">https://www.csoonline.com/article/3292578/california-consumer-privacy-act-what-you-need-to-know-to-be-compliant.html</a>.<br />
[6] The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (2008, May 21). U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Retrieved from <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/gina.cfm">https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/gina.cfm</a>.<br />
[7] Picture for this blog post retrieved from <a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/dna-matrix-genetics-control-3888228/">https://pixabay.com/illustrations/dna-matrix-genetics-control-3888228/</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
I cannot send you my Christmas letter because the letter will have a lot of my personal data aka personally identifiable information (PII) data. Due to privacy laws and potential stalkers, my parents forbade me to send you a letter or an email. With the various cybersecurity issues, I am not sure if my email will end up in the wrong hands and my daddy, mommy, brother, sister and I may get socially engineered and phished.<br />
<br />
Since I still believe in you, here is a compromise. I will share my Amazon wish list and you can use it to send me toys. It needs to be magically because my parents forbade me to share my address with you. I noticed that now Amazon recommends items that I can add to my Amazon wish list. I wonder if Amazon is learning my behavior on Amazon.com. Doesn't that compromise my privacy? Mommy and Daddy tell me privacy laws are here to protect me but I am not sure if websites like Amazon.com, Google.com, Yahoo.com should use my data to make money.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, please send me your email address and I will share my Amazon wish list.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas Santa,<br />
<br />
Your Friend<br />
<br />
P.S. My parents forbade me to share my name with you.<br />
<hr />
NOTE: I used the picture from <a href="https://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/20-free-printable-letters-to-santa/">https://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/20-free-printable-letters-to-santa/</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnUZ-9SUsC93ZG4Bf1jNqRYQkw10FTsQk2Bi7-XerK5ua8R2mO3fksuM-uvYy9SKr-FwSbjIVFCNNhCedcn9SbzaOCxjY2F6wjBudLCn2E7vefRMQFzCjHKnW2-J3ox7_qBO895_27sc/s1600/brain-2789677_960_720.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="960" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnUZ-9SUsC93ZG4Bf1jNqRYQkw10FTsQk2Bi7-XerK5ua8R2mO3fksuM-uvYy9SKr-FwSbjIVFCNNhCedcn9SbzaOCxjY2F6wjBudLCn2E7vefRMQFzCjHKnW2-J3ox7_qBO895_27sc/s320/brain-2789677_960_720.webp" width="320" /></a></div>
Leave it to a lawyer to spoil the fun! <a href="https://twitter.com/AndBurt">Andrew Burt</a>, a lawyer, and writer, recently wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review, which discusses the risks of open-source Artifical Intelligence (AI) models The HBR post, "<a href="https://hbr.org/2019/12/the-ai-transparency-paradox"><b>The AI Transparency Paradox</b></a>," explains the dangers of making artificial intelligence models transparent. On the one hand, businesses want to know how companies engineered their AI algorithms. Is the AI algorithm too sexist, racist, and just not good? For instance, in <a href="https://twitter.com/jjvincent">James Vincent</a>'s article, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/12/16882408/google-racist-gorillas-photo-recognition-algorithm-ai"><b>Google ‘fixed’ its racist algorithm by removing gorillas from its image-labeling tech</b></a>, Google "fixed" its 2015 deep learning algorithm, which labeled humans as monkeys. I am sure the appropriate stakeholders at Google wanted to know how the algorithm was written and how can the developer fixed the inappropriate bias in the algorithm.<br />
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On the one hand, if Google opened its AI code to the open-source community, then the AI algorithms could be significantly improved. On the other hand, as (our no-fun lawyer friend), Andrew Burt cautions businesses that they would be vulnerable if they opened their AI algorithms to the world, which includes bad actors like hostile governments. Andrew uses the research paper titled, <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1602.04938v1.pdf"><b>“Why Should I Trust You?” Explaining the Predictions of Any Classifier</b></a>. The paper is about the Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) algorithm. Andrew then talks about a research paper. <b><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.02508">How can we fool LIME and SHAP? Adversarial Attacks on Post hoc Explanation Methods</a></b>, which was published in November 2019. The document discusses a "novel scaffolding technique," which can be used to hack the LIME algorithm. Is there a return on investment if companies made their algorithms more transparent?<br />
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Folks may argue that Google successfully made its TensorFlow machine learning (ML) platform open source without much impact. Before the TensorFlow platform question can be answered, the following terms need to be defined:<br />
<ul>
<li>Machine Learning;</li>
<li>Deep Learning; and </li>
<li>Artificial Intelligence.</li>
</ul>
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According to <a href="https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/artificial-intelligence-vs-machine-learning-vs-deep-learning/">Geeks for Geeks porta</a>l, "<b>Machine Learning</b> is a technique of parsing data, learn from that data, and then apply what they have learned to make an informed decision." Machine Learning includes supervised training where the machine builds the model on most of the data (70% to 90% of the complete dataset) and then test the data for accuracy with the remaining portion of the data. Unsupervised training involves machine learning from the full dataset. There is no testing of the data.<br />
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<b>Deep Learning</b> algorithms are a specific subset of Machine Learning algorithms, which are primarily composed of neural networks. A common use of deep learning algorithms is for image recognization.<br />
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<a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/artificial-intelligence">Gartner</a> defines <b>Artificial intelligence</b> (AI) is the application of "...advanced analysis and logic-based techniques, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and automate decisions, and take actions."<br />
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Gartner recommends several open-source Data Science and ML platforms, including TensorFlow, to develop ML-based solutions. Does this mean Mr. Burt is incorrect?<br />
<br />
Andrew Burt is correct because comprised algorithms, which are the core of all AI solutions, will cause businesses to make poor decisions and ultimately discredit the AI solution. The underlying technology, which enables to invoke the algorithm, pull the data, process the data, and reports the outcomes, can be open source. The other critical piece of any AI solution is the data itself. Sensitive data is never unless asked by law enforcement or regulatory agency.<br />
<br />
In conclusion, Andrew Burt is correct by bringing up valid points, but at the same time, the AI field is still pretty young. I am a strong believer in open-source software, and I believe we will have open-source AI models available. We will also have AI models that will validate other models using technologies like blockchain technologies.<br />
<br />
NOTE: The video below is about the LIME algorithm, and please keep in mind researchers recently hacked this algorithm.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hUnRCxnydCc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW-3mS4UDonzCclSQ5mCYu82n_avnbpVjfMPxOFL-fpcDOS4TFPjz7LBfA4WstCRN9RbeqVIAt3JfhYS_8DGOBnc6Lwfx9AogOhjCj3qYb-aPpDsPxPxuZatZXFTM8Qt0Iu7VjtAk1zo/s1600/manna_by_marshall_brain+%25284%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW-3mS4UDonzCclSQ5mCYu82n_avnbpVjfMPxOFL-fpcDOS4TFPjz7LBfA4WstCRN9RbeqVIAt3JfhYS_8DGOBnc6Lwfx9AogOhjCj3qYb-aPpDsPxPxuZatZXFTM8Qt0Iu7VjtAk1zo/s320/manna_by_marshall_brain+%25284%2529.png" width="211" /></a></div>
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I am not sure if we will reach either state, but it was good to get a perspective on how the world could be. Personally, as a trained data scientist, I don't envision robots taking over my life. With any technology, we need to use it with pragmatism. AI will enable decision-makers to be aware of their biases and tendencies. "Based on gut feelings" will be reduced. At the same time, all decision-makers shouldn't be making identical decisions since they may not have similar emotions about a decision. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Speaking about emotions, currently, AI engineers are currently developing AI algorithms to mimic and sense human emotions Chatbots, and virtual assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and others want to detect emotion via user interaction and provide a better answer. AI-driven emotions should strive for better sales and improved customer experience. A Senior Analyst (now former) <a href="https://twitter.com/allisonsnow" target="_blank">Allison Snow</a> at <a href="https://www.forrester.com/" target="_blank">Forrester</a> posted a blog entry on November 12, 2018, titled <a href="https://go.forrester.com/blogs/ai-tech-shines-a-path-to-empathetic-triggers/" target="_blank">AI Tech Shines A Path To Empathetic Triggers</a> where connects three independent entities empathy, insights, and AI within the context of B2B marketing. On October 14, 2019, <a href="http://gartner.com/" target="_blank">Gartner</a> published the article, <a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3970332/digital-empathy-a-new-lever-for-earnings-growth" target="_blank">Digital Empathy: A New Lever for Earnings Growth</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/krmoyer" target="_blank">Kristin Moyer</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/davearon" target="_blank">Dave Aron</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/donscheibenreif" target="_blank">Don Scheibenreif</a>. Gartner typically takes a concept and brands it with its own buzz words. In this case, Gartner calls AI-driven emotions "Digital Empathy." </div>
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<div>
With all innovative ideas, you will find folks who will talk about the dangers of these ideas. In the article, <a href="https://towardsdatascience.com/empathy-in-artificial-intelligence-eb167f62af99" target="_blank"><b>Empathy in Artificial Intelligence</b></a> on <a href="http://medium.com/">Medium.com</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/junwuwriting" target="_blank">Jun Wu</a> writes about AI, human emotions, and the ethics around. Last month <a href="https://hbr.org/" target="_blank">Harvard Business Review (HBR)</a> published an article called <b><a href="http://the%20risks%20of%20using%20ai%20to%20interpret%20human%20emotions/" target="_blank">The Risks of Using AI to Interpret Human Emotions</a> </b>by three <a href="https://www.accenture.com/" target="_blank">Accenture</a> employees (<a href="https://twitter.com/mpurdyaccenture" target="_blank">Mark Purdy</a>, <a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/company-john-zealley" target="_blank">John Zealley</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/omaromaseli" target="_blank">Omaro Museli</a>). Accenture talks about biases seeping in the AI since AI is nothing more than decisions based on past data. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Overall the AI-driven empathy concept is entirely new. I wonder how the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/nigerian-prince-scams-still-rake-in-over-700000-dollars-a-year.html" target="_blank">Nigerian prince scam</a> would work if we were effectively duped into giving money. I feel bad for the security guys, but at the same time, there is a business opportunity. All of these ideas are reflected in the book <b>Manna: Two Visions of Humanity's Future</b>. Check out the book!</div>
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<b>NOTE:</b> I used the image from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Manna-Two-Visions-Humanitys-Future-ebook/dp/B007HQH67U">Amazon.com.</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVjEYBAYqnCTXgoBIJeGCgxbO9GDGEzF2laTZeq2I66ZymuVkcjkE6yba2mZhFjwWDXSt6BpNDbxoM-dQFStV6a13mpLcccX_VUz6AD-DKr7HBbVQ0l7zGFZFpmLxZUPLZavyFrRaROs/s590/dig_ent.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVjEYBAYqnCTXgoBIJeGCgxbO9GDGEzF2laTZeq2I66ZymuVkcjkE6yba2mZhFjwWDXSt6BpNDbxoM-dQFStV6a13mpLcccX_VUz6AD-DKr7HBbVQ0l7zGFZFpmLxZUPLZavyFrRaROs/s590/dig_ent.jpeg" height="292" width="320" /></a></div>
As my love affair with my <a href="http://goo.gl/zhlL7" target="_blank">Kindle Fire</a> continues, I realize that my buying habits are strongly influenced by my Kindle Fire. I don't go to Barnes and Noble to buy books anymore. I now go to Barnes and Nobles to have a <a href="http://goo.gl/NzdCH" target="_blank">Starbucks coffee (a venti bold)</a> and an <a href="http://goo.gl/wtHvZ" target="_blank">old-fashioned donut</a>. I don't meander towards the section at Walmart where $5.00 DVDs are littered in a container.<br />
<br />
I used to buy DVDs but now I don't. I don't miss my five kids' small fingers scratching the DVDs or finding the DVDs in unexpected places. My <a href="http://goo.gl/eIugW" target="_blank">PS3</a> DVD drive doesn't work either due to curious kids playing with the PS3 buttons.<br />
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With <a href="http://goo.gl/EKirF" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://goo.gl/K0rb3" target="_blank">Netflix</a> and other companies pushing streaming content, I don't buy my content on physical devices. I buy movies and books on Amazon and store it on their cloud. I plan to purchase kindles for my wife and my older two kids in the next few months and give them access to my Amazon library. I also plan to lock down the kids devices and let them access <a href="http://goo.gl/PZsgy" target="_blank">Amazon freetime</a> which is a kid friendly site.<br />
<br />
It is true that you cannot stream content on the Kindle without <a href="http://goo.gl/UGO1b" target="_blank">Wi-Fi</a>. The big question is then what do we do when we are traveling in a car. The Kindle let's you download movies and books on the device. <br />
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This leads to a future prediction. Cars will have Wi-Fi connects which will allow their passengers to access content while traveling.<br />
<br />
What does this mean to traditional companies like <a href="http://goo.gl/128Cu" target="_blank">Walmart</a>, <a href="http://goo.gl/OP4cv" target="_blank">Target,</a> <a href="http://goo.gl/D4eTa" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> who sell content on traditional devices. They need to evolve.<br />
<br />
I could see them getting in content storage business. What!!! WalMart in data storage business? No way!!! Disney is doing this already. When you buy a Disney movie on DVD, you can also access the DVD content online via <a href="http://goo.gl/4dL5d" target="_blank">DisneyFile</a>. Disney may done it for mobile devices like iPads and other tablets but there is a market for content storage. Amazon sells content storage space at an extremely rate. Check out <a href="http://goo.gl/y5FMa" target="_blank">Amazon Glacier</a><br />
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All said and done. Digital information business is rapidly evolving. Security is a concern but that hasn't stopped folks like me changing their buying habits and driving change.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsirGE5Zj-i5uQQ-4Zdr0pSbuGvvf_k1YawdOKRTe06CqJkiza856n45lY8wTNCTVGf_cm2TVh2bcO_biBrDDQURTnlvLpZpQZRjKro-C02vDKfs1EF0IEO1N-NFnFYGAZFMHMLeNEKtw/s1600/ouya.logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsirGE5Zj-i5uQQ-4Zdr0pSbuGvvf_k1YawdOKRTe06CqJkiza856n45lY8wTNCTVGf_cm2TVh2bcO_biBrDDQURTnlvLpZpQZRjKro-C02vDKfs1EF0IEO1N-NFnFYGAZFMHMLeNEKtw/s1600/ouya.logo.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tech blogs and sites are talking about <a href="http://ouya.tv/" target="_blank">OUYA</a>. OUYA is not a gaming console for the <a href="https://kindle.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Kindle Fire </a>or the <a href="http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/DROID-RAZR-M-BY-MOTOROLA/m-DROID-RAZR-M,en_US,pd.html" target="_blank">Droid Razr</a> but rather for the “old school” screen, the television. My research shows that OUYA is composed of a slick cube shaped console and a controller. </span><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">OUYA's <a href="https://github.com/ouya/docs" target="_blank">application programming interface (</a><a href="https://github.com/ouya/docs" target="_blank">API) and its documentation</a>, which are accessible via the OUYA website, show that the API clean and lightweight. The system is written on the Google’s Android OS which is written in Java. The OUYA API consists of six Java classes and it looks like the developers will have to develop interfaces on how they want the OUYA console to interface with their games. It’s a smart approach. The responsibility on how a game should interface with the OUYA is on the developers and not on the OUYA staff.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>What does this mean for the gaming companies?</b> The companies like <a href="http://zynga.com/" target="_blank">ZYNGA</a> and <a href="http://www.ea.com/" target="_blank">EA</a> will need to have resources who will code the OUYA functionality for all of their games. The companies would also need to host their games. Can we repeat the words, “CLOUD COMPUTING” (again).</span><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>What does the OUYA platform mean for customers?</b> This approach is truly disruptive. This opens up the platform for traditional Java developers like me which in turn means more games will be developed.</span><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>What does the OUYA platform mean for the business world? </b>Businesses can now buy services where specific games can be built for their business needs. Game based learning is rapidly evolving into the main stream business. For instance the <a href="http://www.faa.gov/" target="_blank">Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)</a> is currently exploring games to train the next generation of <a href="http://www.faa.gov/jobs/job_opportunities/airtraffic_controllers/" target="_blank">Air Traffic Controllers</a>. With a platform like OUYA, FAA can develop games a lot less cost since Java developers are not that expensive and publish these games to train new Air Traffic Controllers or even get a high school age person interested in managing air traffic. </span><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Even though the possibilities of OUYA are great, I worry about the security threats with a platform like OUYA. OUYA security access controls are based on its open source <a href="http://www.android.com/" target="_blank">Android operating system (OS) </a>and stores like <a href="https://play.google.com/store" target="_blank">Google Play</a> don’t test the games for malicious code. Unless this policy has recently changed, OUYA may not be adopted by large organizations. If OUYA can provide a secure app store, OUYA’s potential is quite high otherwise it’s to be determined (TBD). </span><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In closing I will know that OUYA is successful when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Scott" target="_blank">Stuart Scott</a> to say “OUYA” rather than “Boo Yah” on <a href="http://espn.go.com/video/sportscenter" target="_blank">ESPN SportsCenter</a>. Here is also a video I found on the OUYA website.</span>
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The big question to ask is what is the next big thing to invest in. I would say, <a href="http://www.yahoo.com/" target="_blank">Yahoo!</a> looks promising but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marissa_Mayer" target="_blank">Marissa Mayer</a>, Yahoo! CEO, seems to be taking patterns that she learned at <a href="http://www.google.com/" target="_blank">Google</a> and implementing them in Yahoo! I don't see innovation. I am loyal to the Yahoo! brand since it led me through the evolution of the internet. It, however, has not evolved as a company. Yahoo! reminds me of Oracle in the digital content world. Like Oracle, Yahoo bought smaller companies however Yahoo doesn't know how to integrate them to provide new and refreshing products.<br />
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My money is on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Iger" target="_blank">Bob Iger</a>, CEO of <a href="http://www.disney.com/" target="_blank">Walt Disney Company</a>. He understands his management style and the Disney brand and made some brilliant moves. His moves include:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/news/companies/disney_pixar_deal/" target="_blank">Acquisition of Pixar </a>- Acquired a popular product and infused into the Disney brand. He understood that the new generations don't easily gravitate to Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, but to Toy Story characters. It was a win/win product.</li>
<li><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/31/news/companies/disney_marvel/index.htm" target="_blank">Acquisition of Marvel Entertainment</a> - Acquired products that appealed to a certain product and infused into the Disney brand</li>
<li><a href="http://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/companies/2012/11/30/star-wars-disney-lucasfilm.fortune/index.html" target="_blank">Acquisition of Lucas Films</a> - Acquired Star Wars and Indiana Jones and put them in the Disney family</li>
</ul>
Do you see the pattern? Bob buys these products on behalf of Disney and uses the Disney brand to make more movies, action figures, theme parks, and sells contracts to <a href="http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html" target="_blank">McDonald's</a> to sell more Happy Meal toys.<br />
<br />
Pure brilliance. Tim Cook is muddling along. He needs to define what Apple should do. If he doesn't do it then Apple stocks will continue to plummet. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wE0VabkRqpzhYmYi0lci8C10-0d8XpdsZ7MODBQO4Mb75BOjck-iXTzBQ-47Jjra0TBleYhLEgGkXuUOpgc4vHi8cumT7fz32uCCpmoJrhRXSlc6UFThRewx-bJWrDu4YVMZtjq2I5c/s1600/Amazon-Kindle-Fire-HD.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wE0VabkRqpzhYmYi0lci8C10-0d8XpdsZ7MODBQO4Mb75BOjck-iXTzBQ-47Jjra0TBleYhLEgGkXuUOpgc4vHi8cumT7fz32uCCpmoJrhRXSlc6UFThRewx-bJWrDu4YVMZtjq2I5c/s320/Amazon-Kindle-Fire-HD.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
Recently I purchased an <a href="http://goo.gl/6irTX" target="_blank">Amazon Kindle Fire HD</a> and I really enjoy using it. Here are my reasons why:</div>
<ul>
<li>It's Green - I don't have to buy books, CDs, DVD or fancy CD/DVD
players. The content in various formats can be accessed by this
Information Delivery device. I currently listen to<a href="http://www.pandora/" target="_blank"> Pandora</a> (internet radio), watch videos on<a href="http://www.netflix.com/" target="_blank"> NetFlix</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="http://goo.gl/qwNZO" target="_blank">Amazon Prime</a> and read books</li>
<li>It's Mobile - I like it better than an iPad since it's smaller to carry around</li>
<li>It's flat out cool - Nothing like watching HD video</li>
</ul>
You may wonder why am I writing about my KindleFire. Is it because of my emotional attachment to <b>my</b> KindleFire? Not really. The reason I am writing about Kindle because Kindle like devices are the future of our digital world<br />
<hr />
Before
I get into why Kindle like devices are our future, I would like to say
that I, Enoch Moses, became a fan of wrist watches. The reason is
because the marvel of mechanical precision and accuracy cannot be fully
appreciated when you work with software, hardware or digital content.
It's cool stuff!<br />
<hr />
As a consumer, I love the Kindle because it
brings everything that I read to one common device which I am
comfortable use. I don't have to learn how to use a CD player, a DVD
player or even carry a four thousand page book.<br />
<br />
As a
content provider, I can spend more time and resources in looking at the
quality of my content rather than how should send my content to my
consumer. A good example is the CEO of a local newspaper who has to
worry about the following:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>How can folks access my newspaper?</b> - Home delivery, Grocery stores, Digital</li>
<li><b>How much money do I need to spend on raw materials?</b> - Printing machines, paper, ink, delivery of papers</li>
</ul>
The CEO of the new content company cares about:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>How can we convene our content with more impact?</b> - He/she
doesn't have to worry about traditional constraints like print, voice or
video. The CEO can embed a video in a written piece or have written
content in a video/audio format. Nothing like listening the author
narrating his new book. </li>
<li><b>Metrics </b>- With digital content, they can see how popular or stale is their content. This increases agility.</li>
</ul>
From an infrastructure point of view, Amazon and Google are
providing platforms where the hardware and software can reside. The web
browser will eventually be standardized. Outsourcing development will
also become a new factor. This way the business can focus on its
business domain while Information Technology (IT) will be commoditized.<br />
<br />
I
also think there will be a clear break between the domain of IT,
Computer Science and Information Science. IT will be an administrative
business function where the CIO will make decisions on which IT services
will be used by the business. Computer Science services and
Information Science services will become niche services which will
enable businesses to meeting their mission. For example drug companies
will use information science services to mine drug and clinical data;
meanwhile companies like Goole and Amazon will use computer science
services to further their IT services.<br />
<br />
How does this
all relate to my KindleFire? It may not but you may be reading it on
your KindleFire. In fact it does, as I write this content, I am not
thinkin about:<br />
<ul>
<li>Where do I host this content?</li>
<li>Is this content friendly for the web, iphone, ipad or Kindle?</li>
<li>Is anyone reading this content? - I use <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/" target="_blank">Google analytics</a> to track this information</li>
</ul>
I am just worried about this blog entry and this is important. This was not possible ten to twenty years ago. Enjoy your <div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<img height="271" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlWl8ruTMc9JNHDxSQry518yP_M-fjdOz-q9-UzY4aYrnUpUMhUhO80mOvJN-YsVcOdGl1bjDGBEg0OVjBOUHLL-tfdeAbcmUUiyVjnD06xY-b_IM_3NVtr4LAWvl-LO2eN6Y237P7sk/s1600/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="500" />
<br />
Now here are pictures from the <a href="http://www.fmh.org/">hospital </a>where my wife gave birth to our son<br />
<br />
<img height="334" id="il_fi" src="http://www.kinsleyconstruction.com/projects/Healthcare/FMH/images/image01.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="500" /><br />
Do you notice the blue & gray carpet, the nice wood floors and the halls have beautiful paintings and pictures. This is typical of any hospital in the US in the twenty first century.<br />
<br />
I liked the change and it made my experience in the hospital pleasurable. The doctors, nurses and the staff are extremely polite and the overall experience was great. <br />
<br />
In March 2012, I was given the opportunity to work for my IT organization's customer service department. I look at customer requests and enable the requests to get processed to the appropriate IT service delivery group. I enjoy working in the customebr service department because it has provided me an opportunity to assist in the transformation of an IT organization. <br />
<br />
A few years ago, IT organizations were viewed as a collection of computer geeks who wrote client server software or fixed PCs. Couple of years ago, I talked someone in the US government who was complaining that typical IT person is an introvert who enjoyed working with technology. He stated this type of workforce was hurting the overall image of his IT department.<br />
<br />
I talked to numerous people in the private sector and public sector and there is a frustration that IT budgets are getting cut, IT functions are being outsourced and most of the time they don't understand how they can join the transformation rather than fight it.<br />
<br />
After my experience in the hospital and reading Gartner, Forrester articles, I believe IT organizations need to emphasize customer experience management. Customer relationship management is key however the relationships cannot become strong without providing a rich customer experience. If I am a customer, I would like the IT department to be proactive, understand my business and needs and enable me to do my job better. If I don't enjoy working with the IT department then I won't be able to develop a mutually constructive relationship. For a rich customer experience, I would like the IT department to be transparent, and provide me good service. Not service like this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KUoAC5msF-U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
So whenever I think about customer experience, I think about my hospital experience. I am sure we can do improve the customer experience in IT. We don't Peggys like the ad above.<br />
. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUlhD0zk8DoJxr2-IXL23_xQbepnSBud5Ng9VRA26M2LdcOu2226VonvupyBj7fNIvgXIp-2RWi9JEP7222pe5-dNXNNX9fmBAUg0WBt5oCvcOIhxPNg7JBrXJZL1MESCE7Pfu88-6CM/s1600/banfacebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUlhD0zk8DoJxr2-IXL23_xQbepnSBud5Ng9VRA26M2LdcOu2226VonvupyBj7fNIvgXIp-2RWi9JEP7222pe5-dNXNNX9fmBAUg0WBt5oCvcOIhxPNg7JBrXJZL1MESCE7Pfu88-6CM/s1600/banfacebook.jpg" /></a></div>
I give up! I am planning to get out of <a href="http://facebook.com/">Facebook.com</a>. Yesterday I spent some time trying to limit profiles for certain individuals. It's extremely hard. Frankly it is retarded! This is the first time in couple of years that I tried to configure my account. Facebook does a horrible job of putting functionality in their product and they don't remove the functionality when it becomes obsolete. Where is the part that I can sign up to be in my employer's social network? It's not there. What happened to limiting profiles. Now you have to create lists which are highly complicated. They just paid<a href="http://instagr.am/"> Instragr.am</a> to be part of this dysfunctional family. Facebook reminds of Microsoft's second cousin who lives in trailer in the backwoods of Ozarks.<br />
<br />
Maybe I am harsh but I am definitely frustrated. I am done! >-|<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmovER_5XkYq9biM9CBcf1O3kn9mujHNNi8xrcSf7Y9Gqvs3SYqtgWqRDEVwXCsKxAo6UiM7jpT6AXPQ-GXC9AgQLat3_vxQNwlapUNjFfecbfLVKecHK0yTUMetqmoX3ODpFa6DWiEHo/s1600/foursquare.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmovER_5XkYq9biM9CBcf1O3kn9mujHNNi8xrcSf7Y9Gqvs3SYqtgWqRDEVwXCsKxAo6UiM7jpT6AXPQ-GXC9AgQLat3_vxQNwlapUNjFfecbfLVKecHK0yTUMetqmoX3ODpFa6DWiEHo/s320/foursquare.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
For the last couple of weeks, if you ever ran into me, you would notice that I am usually fidgeting with iPhIone. Either I must be checking my email, tweeting or simply "four-squaring". Four-squaring? What is four-squaring? Well I just coined the term on this blog entry. If you ever hear the word "four-square" then you can attribute it to this blog entry. According to "moi", four-squaring is a term that references to a person who is advertising his or her existence on the <a href="https://foursquare.com/" target="_blank">foursquare mobile app</a>. Foursquare lets you tell the world that you are in a specific store. If you use the app alot then you end up earning <a href="http://thekruser.com/foursquare/badges/" target="_blank">foursquare badge</a>s.. Sounds alot fun right? Actually I thought I was advertising my shopping trends and my daily routine to the world. Vendors are now offering special coupons via foursquare to visit their stores. It sounds like alot fun for the user...BUZZ! You are wrong! It's sounds like $$$ for the vendor since it is another marketing channel and another data point to consider in their marketing strategy. In closing I would say,<br />
<ul>
<li>4^2 = $$$$$ for the vendors</li>
<li>4^2 = no privacy for the user + meaningless badges.</li>
</ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
The big question to ask is how folks can make money of these power technologies. I could write about the next big idea which needs seed funding and technologists to make the big idea happen but in reality no one will really know if this idea will take off. It's like peanut butter slices. Do you buy them? If so then please comment to this blog entry. Unlike the next big idea, what I can write about is how we can use existing technologies to make money. I am big fan of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Four Square, Tumblr, and on and one. What I have not seen is how businesses are successfully using all of these social technologies to sell their brand and simply market their products. Online companies still use Adwords (Yes! Hail to the power of Google Gods [I say with sarcasm of course) and spend money on search engine optimization but they are struggling how to harness social computing. At work, I worked on projects where social media and mass collaboration efforts are promoted however no one knows how these technologies will be used in my employer's enterprise.<br />
<br />
The reality is that money can be made using social technologies in smart way. If folks can persuade the masses on how SOPA is bad for you, your kids and you grandkids then I am sure we can use these technologies to sell a product smarter and more effectively.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<ol>
<li><b>Acquisition</b> - How can US government address acquisition of mobile technologies and services? Can the US government streamline the acquisition process.</li>
<li><b>Security</b> - How to safeguard government information and technologies from hackers.</li>
<li><b>Privacy</b> - How to protect mobile user information from inappropriate use especially when they interface with US government mobile sites and apps.</li>
<li><b>Citizen apps</b> - How to develop a mobile presence to engage US government's biggest customer US citizen.</li>
<li><b>Infrastructure</b> - How can US government address the evolution of mobile technologies and associated technologies like cloud computing, social computing and others.</li>
</ol>
As the member of the security sub-group, we discussed several policy and technical approaches. The thing that caught my eye and basically sums up any future technical advancement is the ability to do use any application from anywhere and anytime. I call this the "Netflix phenomenon"<br />
<br />
Even though <a href="http://linkd.in/uL4iae" target="_blank">Reed Hastings</a>, Netflix CEO, won't win the CEO of the year award, I still give him credit in taking the movie watching experience from a cinema theater to any possible device which is accredited by Netflix. I admit that Google introduced this feature with YouTube however Netflix took it to a new level. I can now start a movie via my laptop, pause it and then resume it on my iPad. I like this <a href="http://bit.ly/takGwD" target="_blank">DirecTV</a> commerical which captures what I am talking about.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="240" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ui2svrceVew?rel=0&hd=1" width="490"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
To develop this type of an IT service, enterprises need to invest in the following technologies and architectures like:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Cloud computing</b> - IT departments need to centralize their business applications and act as cloud brokers to outsource some of their applications to third party clouds like <a href="http://bit.ly/sGgr47" target="_blank">Amazon EC2</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/rCZSu0" target="_blank">Google Cloud</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/u0qy9c" target="_blank">Rackspace</a> and others. I believe unless OMB makes significant investments in IT infrastructure, agencies will have to act as cloud brokers. It's a cost effective mechanism.</li>
<li><b>Smarter Pipes</b> - Where is <a href="http://bit.ly/uDCK5a" target="_blank">Mario </a>when you need him? With all of the data and information streaming back and forth between clouds, user devices, government needs to influence how IT networks should evolve. Since mobile users are constantly starving for the fastest network, vendors have to realize that simply scaling up the networks is not a sustainable model. Vendors and research institutes need to look at how data should traverse the network and optimize it. A good example is that vendors need to develop information <a href="http://bit.ly/sXxge3" target="_blank">caching mechanisms</a> at the network level. </li>
<li><b>Smarter security</b> - One of the best phrases used by the mobile users in the government space is, "brick". Users can call and email on a brick but nothing else. Security personnel should realize that clamping everything defeats the purpose. <a href="http://bit.ly/sJJRlj" target="_blank">IT risk management</a> should be a key in developing a smarter security posture. Single sign on is key as well. No one wants to sign on with multiple usernames and passwords to do their work.</li>
<li><b>Usability</b> - One of the best parts of using Netflix is how intuitive the user interface is. Ease of use is a key phrase to describe Netflix's user interface. We need to identify and prioritize what functionality is needed or desired on a mobile app.</li>
<li><b>Flexibility</b> - Use sound architecture principles like loose coupling, simple interfaces and architectures. Simpler is better. </li>
<li><b>Standards based architecture</b> - Eventhough there is an over abundance of standards especially <a href="http://bit.ly/rxzJg4" target="_blank">XML </a>(frankly I am sick of how folks are misusing it), we still need to emphasize it and design appropriately. Having a 50MB XML payload in SOA enabled information exchange is NOT smart architecture. I am not going to expound on the 50MB XML example since it is aggravating.</li>
</ul>
Even though Reed Hastings didn't make alot friends with Qwikster or jacking up the monthly Netflix fees, he did build a pretty cool service called Netflix streaming. As I write this blog, my youngest son is watching <a href="http://bit.ly/tYUCL5" target="_blank">Power Rangers in Space</a> via the WII and my oldest two are watching a <a href="http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/" target="_blank">Dreamworks</a> movie via the PS3. My third one is having fun the old fashioned way. She is attending a birthday party. Thanks Reed and now bring down the monthly fees.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<p><b>Gartner Sessions on Wireless</b><br/>
The wireless sessions were quite good and they validated some of things I would like to see implemented in the agency I work for. They also highlighted the explicit dependencies associated with setting up an enterprise wireless capability. Gartner also didn't emphasize any variables associated with security when developing a mobile strategy. Frankly I think the IT community is struggling on how to balance with innovation, operations, and security. This was evident on how Gartner is skimming over the security components of mobile technologies. I therefore think that IT departments in general will eventually abstract themselves from system/infrastructure security and interface with the security components using IT risk management. IT system security will exist but it will morph into a security science discipline where software and hardware will be developed and embedded into systems (ala McAfee and Symantec). These components will be combined at the IT DNA level (firmware, network stack, etc, etc) and will be implicitly be everywhere in the cloud stacks and device (mobile, desktop) OS stacks. IT department won't have the resources dedicated to look at explicity system security.</p>
<p><b>Paul Maritz</b><br/>
This leads me to the next point. According to Paul Maritiz, CEO of VMWare, labelled clouds as software mainframes. The Gartner analysts tried to see if VMWare is going out of the virtualizations and going in application and information tier. Paul answered "No". They want to support application development by producing nooks and hooks into the VMWare stack. He was asked about VMWare's acquistion of <a href="http://www.digitalfuel.com">DIgital Fuel</a>. Paul answered that Digital Fuel was acquired to provide VMWare's customers tools and methods to monitor their VMWare products. Paul kept emphasising that automation is the key and not management. My favorit quote of the Gartner Symposium was said by Paul Maritz. The quote is, "You cannot put management lipstick on a chicken." During the whole session, Paul reminded me of Pavaoritti, the great opera singer. After listening to the session, I am of the opinion that VMWare is betting that Paul Maritiz will hit the right notes in leading VMWare to succeed in the Opera of Cloud and Virtual computing. </p>
<p><b>CIO Power Politics</b><br/>
I attended this session with a colleague of mine. Session was an assessment on what it takes to be a successful CIO. I could go into the details but it comes down to common sense. Key tentants are: know your organization; know the mission and vision of your organization; understand your strengths and weaknesses; and work hard. Hard work doesn't mean slaving as a code monkey or developing shell scripts. It means take ownership, be passionate about it and user your common sense. This will inspire your team and create a positive synergy. The other thing that caught my eye is Gartner's mission. What is it? Is Gartner providing information regarding trends and analysis or sessions on what it takes to succeed as a CIO.</p>
<p>In closing I was caught by Mr. Maritz' s analogy of the cloud as software mainframes. In 1970s and 1980s, we had hardware mainframes. In 2010s, we have software mainframes. I believe by 2020, we will have information mainframes. What are information mainframes? They are data and information sets available on the internet and these sets will be avaiable for a cost. Applications of these information mainframes could be for visual analytics, information sharing. These information mainframes will replace architectures like SOA which will never succeed in an enterprise scale. Information mainframes will allow companies to run federate queries, data discovery and data management. To get there, technologies and methodologies need to be developed to increase data quality, semantic harmonization, data security. We are not there yet. Social networks like Facebook, and Linkedin are people information mainframes however we are not there yet for enterprise business information. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGn36IXzrvynaROPe1LcL4JUA1GJJq2xfULJlBMnxktN_IcxfQqZBbFEJOcn1d12DWBdIfsfdu_3Q40neFCZhSMiP5jFKFjKPgJX98a7S-4SmkGVNwuF05dybEDTjkR8o-maOHGhs-Xs/s1600/GartnerSymposium_570x177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="99" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGn36IXzrvynaROPe1LcL4JUA1GJJq2xfULJlBMnxktN_IcxfQqZBbFEJOcn1d12DWBdIfsfdu_3Q40neFCZhSMiP5jFKFjKPgJX98a7S-4SmkGVNwuF05dybEDTjkR8o-maOHGhs-Xs/s320/GartnerSymposium_570x177.jpg" width="320" /></a>This is my second year at the Gartner Symposium IT/XPo in Orlando, Florida. After the first two days of the symposium, I believe the mantra of the symposium is the three new pillars of technology which are the glued together by information. The pillars are: </div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://bit.ly/pxa113">Cloud Computing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_computing">Mobile Computing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_computing">Social Computing</a></li>
</ol>
At first you think this is just bunch of hype. What can a bunch of research analysts know about cloud, mobile, or anything else in IT. Are these Gartner analysts creating trends from pure ignorance? The answer is,"No" Companies like Amazon, Google and Apple are creating technologies which are extremely disruptive and are causing problems in a positive way. Today Gartner mentioned Google and Apple as the innovators. I believe Amazon should be in that group. Amazon built the EC2 before IBM can spell cloud.<br />
Amazon's model tends rely on developing services which are off-shoots out of its book business. The Amazon cloud was a game changer and now Amazon's Silk which is a cloud browser will change the way things are done on the mobile space.<br />
<br />
I attended couple of mobile sessions today and coule of social media sessions today. Did I learn anything from these sessions? The answer is Yes. Social media has a defined lifespan. Mobile computing is going to take over and the concept of cloud brokers was introduced.<br />
<br />
I personally believe that cloud will reduce costs in the long run and increase throughput. I also believe that mobile will allow users to be more immersed in the internet and social computing is not a IT phenomenon but rather a social one.<br />
<br />
The thing that caught my ear was the case study they did about the financial organization and how they built visual tools. They updated their processes to be more "agile" so that the customer is engaged more in the development process. I am therefore waiting for Agile computing. This is the next big thing. Once these technologies are stablize and drive costs down, businesses will be looking for more agility from their IT since the users will be changing their needs based on their social network.<br />
<br />
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<br />
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<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>To all,</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Carol</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Sent from my iPad</em></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See the issue? You may think it is the email. True. Shooting an email to your ex-employees that you were fired has issues but I am not going there. The issue I see is that it was sent from her iPad.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are evolving to companies which develop and disseminate content; and develop the software and hardware which dissemiinate content. Facebook is not in the hardware business however they are creating waves by funding software projects which work around Apple's devices limitation on Flash. Apple is not a content generator (not yet atleast) but they are the best content deliverer. Google is not a content generator but a content aggregator, content searcher and a content deliverer. Facebook is a content generator, content aggregators, and a content deliverer. Microsoft is pretty much all over the place with Bing, MSN.com, slate.com and others.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yahoo! used to be know for the search engine however it has evolved in a purely a content provider. Folks would agree that Yahoo! would be mentioned with companies like AOL (yes that same AOL), What Yahoo! needs to do is get back in the hardware and software side of things. Yes, Yahoo has a get great AJAX library however they need to something interesting like buy RIM and rebrand it with Yahoo! content. I don't know if this is possible but a move like that would bring Yahoo back in the business. In conclusion, I would have appreciated Ms. Bartz if her email stated the following:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>To all,</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.</em></span></blockquote><blockquote><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Carol</em></span></div></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Sent from my Yahoo! Tablet</em></span></blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
I am sure there are multiple organizations which face this problem. How do you deal with this type of problem? The biggest complain I hear that there is no executive sponsorship or even if there is then there is no executive guidance. In an agency where I work, which is an extremely large and bureaucratic government agency, no one is going to give strong sponsorship or guidance. Rather than complaining about it, I realize it is a reality and I have work with it.<br />
<br />
In an ideal world, the organization or organizations, who are responsible for a specific effort, should have an engagement model (internal and external). The internal model is called "organizational governance". The ideal world has a strong Program Management Office (PMO) which runs programs with an iron fist. Unfortunately US civil servants who are grouped in IT departments usually don't have that luxury since government agencies view their IT departments as a support function. The PMO paradigm may be implemented more now because of the current fiscal crisis with my employer.<br />
<br />
As a program manager, how do you deal with this type of issue? If you are not an enterprise architect (like myself) then you either hire a bright enterprise architect or work with your counterpart in enterprise architecture program. Here are few steps that I can think of:<br />
<br />
<ol><li>Ask the architects to decompose the business functions of the organizations and then map them to their role in your program. </li>
<li>Present to the program stakeholders and see if they agree on it</li>
<li>Develop projects and appropriate RACI charts that map different organization roles to it</li>
<li>Develop program charter and plan</li>
<li>Present to the program stakeholders and see if they agree on it</li>
<li>Develop a communication plan which should be the basis for the engagement model</li>
</ol><div>By going through a rigorous approach where stakeholders sign off on the plan and their responsibilities, you can develop a concrete plan and manage your stakeholders. Before I got into project management, I thought managers sit in numerous meetings and not do anything. There are project and program managers who sit in meeting and like to strategize however their projects and programs don't have any valuable outcome. I have learned that every work product being produced in a project or a program is a critical artifact to manage your team's and your stakeholders' expectations. After all most of project management is about managing and having a formal or informal engagement model. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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<br />
Well here it. I just spent twenty minutes going through <a href="http://bit.ly/o7m5Xx">Google news</a> to see if there is anything interesting to write. I saw articles about <a href="http://bit.ly/rgQKiB">malware</a> and <a href="http://1.usa.gov/rkEBx9">cybersecurity</a>. If I blast about the perpetrators in this blog entry then my systems may compromised (typical mantra of security folks). I saw an article about <a href="http://gizmo.do/pzYHIY">slim iPhone 5 and the fat iPhone 4</a>. This led me to write about something different. I could go and spew about the common IT topics like:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1599183609" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Google vs Microsoft vs Apple vs Facebook vs Cisco vs Yahoo vs Google (see the vicious cycle)</li>
<li>Malware and Cyber-security (<a href="http://bit.ly/pwS2QY">is it the chinese again</a>)</li>
<li>mobile devices (skinner, faster, lighter, cooler, etc)</li>
<li>Oracle just bought out company X</li>
</ul><div>Forget that man! Life is too short. I am going to write about the next big thing after adwords. Companies like Facebook, Google and Microsoft will market products directly to us because they are capturing our likes, dislikes and how we feel about certain situations. The information tier in the world of IT is the more non-disruptive since information is constant. A phone may smaller and faster, applications move into the cloud or networks are more secure but your data is your data. Your height, weight, SSN, age, names, desires don't change as often. There is disruption in this space as well but not as rapid in the hardware and software side of things. Information can be combined to create new views however it doesn't disrupt the way you use a phone. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So be warned, I first said it here. Google is going to come out with Man-words or Woman-words where folks can bid on text ads which are specifically geared towards to you. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Okay now I got to look at next week's article.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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With IT being commoditized and being outsourced, I decided that I don't want to get a master's degree in Information Systems or Computer Science. It's so Y2K mindset. Instead I am strongly considering getting a master's in Systems Engineering. I believe Systems Engineering will provide me the tools to excel in the future. I don't see IT being the way it is now in ten to twenty years. I could get two hundred or more certificates from Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, CISCO and worry about renewing my certs every few years or get a degree in Information Systems and morph into a nice comfy paper pushing employee. Neither career appeals to me. MBA sounds great but I don't want to spend $40,000 and more and end up being a mid level manager. I will go for an MBA if the program is right. Currently getting a MBA from non reputable college is not my view of career advancement.<br />
<br />
So. I have decided to pursue a master's in Systems Engineering. After getting some insight into couple of complex systems like the <a href="http://1.usa.gov/o9HtMf">National Incident Management System (NIMS)</a> or <a href="http://1.usa.gov/oFkvX4">National Airspace System (NAS)</a>, I believe this would be a fascinating domain to study in and it will equip me to do my current job better. Please feel free to comment and tell me how you feel about my decision.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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</script></div>Enoch Moseshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13898450224427893889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8574933382124412024.post-78808371242904519932011-07-11T20:51:00.000-07:002011-07-12T01:25:14.601-07:00Do I need a PMP next to my name<a href="http://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Success-Mindmaps-Placemat/dp/1935062085?ie=UTF8&tag=enochmosescom-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="PMP Exam Success Series: Mindmaps Placemat" height="212" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1935062085&tag=enochmosescom-20" width="320" /></a>I believe job seekers hurt their chances when they start appending various professional acronyms to their name. I saw this person on Linkedin and looked at the acronyms following this person's name. I then analyzed it. This person has: <br />
<ul><ul><li>MS - Master's of Science</li>
<li>MBA - Master's in Business Administration</li>
<li>CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional</li>
<li>PMP - Project Management Professional</li>
<li>ITIL - Information Technology Infrastructure Library certifed </li>
<li>MCSE - Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer</li>
<li>CCNP - Cisco Certified Network Professional</li>
<li>Sec+ - I found this definition on Wikipedia Security+ is a certification dealing with computer security topics such as cryptography and access control, as well as business-related topics such as disaster recovery and risk management. </li>
</ul></ul>I look at this person's profile and wonder the following things: <br />
<ul><ul><ul><li>Why does this person have a MS, MBA and multiple certifications?</li>
<li>Does this person think that he/she needs to prove his/her technical skills?</li>
<li>Is this person demand a high salary or consultant rate since he/she has numerous certificates?</li>
<li>Why is this person so technical and have an MBA? What is his/her career goals? </li>
</ul></ul></ul>I strongly believe this practice promotes recruiters to downgrade resumes or CVs which over use acronyms next to the candidates' names. I do believe that couple of acronyms next to the names may be helpful but why would a recruit consider someone who has a MBA or a PMP to be a Linux Kernel developer?<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=enochmosescom-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1935062085" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript">
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